The suspect charged two months ago with attempting to murder a conservative justice, had identified himself as a “male-to-female” and a “trans gamer girl” named Sophie, according to online posts he previously wrote.
Nicholas John Roske, 26, attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on June 8, but was arrested near the justice’s personal home in Maryland. Carrying a firearm and ammunition, the pro-abortion activist from Simi Valley, California, said he was upset by the then-potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, a 50-year-old court decision that legalized abortion nationwide in the United States.
A recent FBI application (pdf) for a search warrant said Roske’s electronic and telecommunications services accounts on Reddit, Google, and Discord, contained evidence including the suspect vowing to “remove some people from the supreme court.”
“I could get [kill] at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come,” he told one Reddit user in a May 25 exchange.
A social media review by federal agents also revealed the biological male had also portrayed himself online as a transgender woman and advocated mandatory abortion as a means to wipe out the human race, according to the affidavit.
In some posts, Roske named himself “Sophie” and introduced himself as “MtF,” meaning male-to-female, and as “F4F,” meaning female for female. He had also identified himself as a “trans gamer girl” and “femme” on Reddit Townhall reported on Wednesday. He also expressed interest in working for the FBI and posted personal ads describing himself as a “pet” that wants “to be treated as less than human but still loved.”
‘Radical View’
In October 2018, he called abortion mandatory a relief to humankind. “If no new people are born, humanity will end and thus human suffering will end,” he wrote. “I am aware how radical this view is, but I do hold it sincerely.”
In the wake of the leaked draft majority opinion from the high court to overturn Roe v. Wade early in May this year, the man found out the conservative justice’s address, which was first publicized online by a leftist group.
Protesters march past Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home in Chevy Chase, Maryland on June 8, 2022. Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Between May 5 and June 8 when Roske was arrested, the search history on his cell phone included the phrases “quietest semi auto rifle,” “Reagan assassination attempt,” “most effective place to stab someone,” “assassin skills,” and “how to be stealthy,” among others, said the July 26 filing. Another review of his web history unveiled his visits to the “Current Members” page of the Supreme Court’s website and the “List of assassinations” page on Wikipedia, agents found.
Roske was indicted on one count of “Attempt to Assassinate Justice of United States,” according to a June 12 court filing, facing a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
The Supreme Court handed down the reversal of Roe v. Wade at the end of June.
Rita Li
Author
Rita Li is a reporter with The Epoch Times, focusing on U.S. and China-related topics. She began writing for the Chinese-language edition in 2018.
